Little Birds
by neko-nya
Summary: At the age of thirteen and a bit, Niwa Daisuke discovers on his back, wings. His mother takes him to where his father and others like him lived and he finds himself surrounded by an eccentric bunch of people and possibly a newfirst love? DarkxKrad DaixSat
1. Prologue

Little Birds

Prologue:

Niwa Daisuke was eleven when he first began to notice something.

It was a constant itching, a little something poking at his back.

* * *

At the age of twelve, he realized he wasn't like the other kids when he found two small bumps on his back. And when he went to see his mother about it, she didn't seem fazed at all. She merely gave a gentle smile, shook her head and ruffled his hair, "You really do take after your father."

His father, Niwa Kosuke, he only remembered seeing his father once or twice at a young age. The man didn't live with them, his mother had told him that it was because of his job that he couldn't come live with them, but Daisuke knew it was a lie. However, seeing that his mother was intent on not telling him the truth, he didn't push it.

* * *

By the age of thirteen, when the redhead looked into the mirror and found that there was a tiny pair of wings sprouting from his back.

He began wearing baggy clothes constantly.

No one seemed to notice, much to his relief.

* * *

Soon enough, they grew, and grew. They grew until he could no longer conceal them, and simply continued. That was when Emiko decided to have him home schooled instead. And a bit later, she announced that the family was taking a trip. His grandfather didn't question her, he merely gave a knowing nod and got up to pack.

* * *

Daisuke packed up his things and loaded it into the car, "…kaa-chan?"

His mother looked over from stuffing things into the trunk of the car, "Yes Dai-chan?"

"Where are we going?"

Emiko blinked before smiling, happiness shining in her eyes, "To see your father, darling."

* * *

He winced when the grip on his hand tightened. Neing held behind the taller of the two, he had to tilt his head sideways to see _that __person _approaching. Suddenly, he was pulled down the stairs. He could hear footsteps behind him along with a loud angry voice, yelling at them, cursing the two as they ran. Frowning, he looked up at the other, "Where are we going?"

Not bothering to look back, the other gave a prompt reply, "Away from here."

They ran out the door, and he could hear _that __person_ running after them.

The two ran past the gates, again, not bothering to look back. But by the time they reached the end of the block, he stole a glance back and saw that their persuader had already given up. Either way, they continued running, too afraid to stop.

* * *

Finally, they stopped and hid in an alleyway, pausing to take a break so they could catch their breaths, "Are you alright?"

He nodded, "Where are we going to go now?"

The other gave a sigh and ran a hand through his hair, he shook his head, "I don't know Satoshi…I'm sorry, but I don't know."

* * *

Nya

And so, the amazingly...something close to stupid neko-nya decides to start another story :O Beware ye who doths happy-go-lucky-ness for she haths an insane liking to angst. And beware ye who read this, for it makes no sense to me and it probably won't make any sense to you . Well, anyways, yea, new story, and...enjoy :) Going on a lovely trip this lovely weekend so buhbye...lovingly? or something :D


	2. Chapter 1

Little Birds

Chapter 1:

Ruby eyes blinked when the car stopped. Looking around groggily and not recognizing anything, he realized that he'd fallen asleep for most of the trip. He wouldn't have woken up if it wasn't for his mother who looked back with the same, expectant smile she'd been wearing all day, "Dai-chan…we're almost there, wake up honey."

He looked out the window again, seeing nothing but trees, "Kaa-chan? Where are we?"

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough."

Daisuke looked up at the gray sky, "It looks like it's going to snow soon…"

And in a singsong tone, she replied, "We'd better hurry then, shouldn't we?"

* * *

"It's getting cold…here." He took off his jacket and passed it to the younger one.

"But you'll get cold."

"I'll be fine," He reached into his pocket and fished out his wallet, "I have a bit of money, go get something for us to eat."

Blue eyes blinked, looking down at the leather wallet, "What? What about you?"

"You know I can't very well walk around with these. Just go, Sato."

He nodded, "I'll be right back." Wrapping the coat around himself to conceal the appendages on his back, he looked around cautiously before running off onto the street. On the way, he looked up at the sky, "It looks like it's going to snow soon…"

* * *

Golden eyes looked dully at the ground. Wrapping his arms around himself, tugging lightly at his sleeves in attempt to cover more of his bare arms, he shivered and watched the boy disappear down the street. Sighing, he sat there and watched as his breath dissolve into the air.

* * *

They got out of the car when they finally reached a fairly large lodge in the middle of the forest. Daisuke looked around in confusion, "This is where tou-san lives? In the woods?"

"That's right. Come on, let's go in and say hi to everyone." Without hesitation, she marched over to the door and knocked on it, "Kosuke-san? Are you in?"

The door opened and a silver haired girl poked her head through warily. A moment later, she broke out into a smile, "Emiko-san!"

"Towa-chan!" The two hugged happily. Daisuke was more than surprised to see silvery wings poking out of the girl's back. "How are the others doing?"

_Others?_

"They're doing great! Kosuke-san, Dark, the twins, Rika-san and Argentine-chan are playing poker at the table right now. I was just baking cookies for them since I lost all my chips. Oh, right, and we're almost out of supplies."

A voice spoke up from inside the house, _"Don't call me Argentine-chan!"_

"Oh, I'll have to go buy some won't I?"

The girl called Towa smiled, "It'd be appreciated-oh my, who's this cute little boy you have with you here?"

"Towa-chan, this is Daisuke, my son. I've told you about him before plenty of times!"

A blush tinted his cheeks as he shuffled closer to his mother, "Nice to meet you…"

The girl smiled, "So he's Daisuke! He's so cute! He looks just like his father!" She shook his hand, "Hello Dai-chan, you can call me Towa-chan. It's nice to finally meet you!"

Inside the house, bickering began, _"He's cheating! He is **so** cheating!"_

_"I am not! I'm just really good a poker!"_

_"Yea right, I bet he's got cards up his sleeves."_

_"I do not! I don't even have sleeves!"_

_"It's alright! Calm down, Dark has no way of cheating."_

_"…I fold."_

_"He **is** cheating!"_

_"I **am** not! I have awesome intuition! You're just mad because I know when to fold and when to call your bluffs, Argen-chan."_

_"Stop calling me that!"_

_"Dark-san…maybe you should stop teasing Argentine-kun…"_

_"No way, he's just angry because I'm good at poker and he's not."_

_"I am not…With! That's how you're doing it! You use your rabbit to cheat!"_

_"N-no! How would I do that? You lie!"_

_"Hohoho…Dark's finally caught red-handed…"_

Daisuke blinked and stared at the lodge, the silver-winged girl ushered him in, "Don't be shy, come on in! Everyone's quite friendly despite what you just heard! I'll go get the cookies!" She rushed off to the kitchen, leaving him standing around in the living room, in front of a room of strangers. Cards were spewed all around at the center of the mess, a tall boy with black wings and a sandy blonde were pulling each other's cheeks mercilessly.

His mind drew a blank as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly. They'd all turned their eyes towards him and he could feel his face heating up from the attention. Then suddenly, his mother stepped beside him, "Kosuke-san!"

Daisuke watched as his parents hugged, "Emiko-san? What are you doing here? And Daisuke!" He walked over and kneeled down in front of his son with a happy smile on his face, "You've grown a lot in these past few years haven't you?"

The redhead gave a silent nod, while from beside him, his mother laughed and put an arm around his shoulder, "Don't be shy Dai-chan. He's your father! And besides, everyone here's very nice."

The boy with black wings watched him curiously, "A new kid hm? Argen-chan, you can let go now."

The sandy blonde began pulling harder, "Stop calling me that!"

"Ow! Why you little…"

"Ow-ow-ow-ow! Let go!"

"No! You let go! Stupid brat!"

"You let go first! Old man!"

"Old man? I'll show you…!"

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow okay! I give!" He let go of the other and rubbed his cheeks.

The other grinned and hopped off the couch to greet the redhead. "Hi there, I'm Dark! It'll be nice to have a _real_ kid around, one who's not a _brat _like someone _I_ can think of. Not to mention any names, hm? _Argen-chan_."

"Stop calling me that! My name is Argentine!"

"Yea, so? Look at this kid, he's adorable! And he doesn't talk back to his seniors!"

Light violet eyes looked up as an exasperated sigh was released, "Sleazy old man, stop hitting on the kid!"

"S-sleazy old man? I'll show you!" His eyes narrowed and he began to chase the other around the house, just as Towa returned from the kitchen with cookies.

"This is a house, not a zoo! Animals aren't allowed to eat cookies you know, they get sick and die...like my hamster did."

"I'm not an animal, he is!" The two glared at each other, Dark attempted to take a chomp at the accusing finger that the other pointed at him.

Daisuke stifled his laughter when he watched the girls approach him, two of them were twins and the other seemed related to them too. He gave a smile and greeted them politely, just as he'd always been taught to. "Hello, I'm Niwa Daisuke…"

The girl with the shortest hair smiled, her and her twin appeared to be his age, "I'm Harada Riku, that's my sister Risa, and that's our cousin Rika."

He nodded, trying to remember all their names, "It's nice to meet you all."

* * *

"This was all I could get on short notice…"

He looked at the bread the younger one was holding, "It'll do, there's enough money to keep us going for awhile."

"…we'll be alright won't we? We'll make it through this, right?"

He rose a brow at the other's doubtful expression and wrapped an arm around him, "Of course, don't worry Satoshi, I'll make sure we do."

* * *

The next morning Emiko made her way to the kitchen, "Are the boys up yet?"

"Nope, still sleeping like pigs."

The brunette gave a slight frown before marching to the boy's rooms, "Wake up or no breakfast!" She twirled out of the room and sauntered back into the kitchen with a smile. "I'll go out and get groceries, don't wait up."

Moments later a lot of thumps could be heard. And then a minute later, Argentine could be heard yelling at Dark, "Open up! Open up already, you jerk!"

"That's no way to speak to your elders, now I'll _never_ open up."

"Don't make me pick the lock old man!"

"And have you gaze upon my holy-not to mention never-before-seen _naked_ body? Why Argen-chan! I never knew!"

"Don't flatter yourself!" The boy's face reddened regardless to his comment, "you're disgusting! Just open the door already!"

"Oh, you know you're dying to see it, just admit it. Why else would you pick the lock?"

The boy covered his violet eyes in disgust, "Great…now I won't be able to hold breakfast down without throwing up at the images."

Dark gave a mock gasp of concern, "You poor bulimic pervert!"

"I'm not bulimic! And I'm not a pervert!"

"I'm stepping into the _showers_ now, so if you really want to pick that lock, you go right ahead and pick that lock."

Argentine frowned and dragged his feet back to his room in defeat, "…gross."

* * *

"What's wrong?"

"No…I was just wondering when it'll start snowing…"

He shivered at the thought of the snow. As if it wasn't beyond freezing already. "Hey…we're probably going to need another jacket won't we?" He smiled and ushered the other away, "Go buy a warm one that actually fits you okay?"

Blue eyes watched the other lean back against the wall tiredly and nodded before heading off again. Looking around on the street, he was relieved that it was still quite empty considering how early it was. He walked past a brunette who shot him a strange look as he passed. Feeling rather uneasy under the woman's stare, he shoved his hands into his pockets and picked up his pace.

* * *

The door opened and a cheerful voice was heard.

"I'm back!" Emiko stepped in, arms full of groceries, "There's more in the car so a little help would be nice." Almost immediately everyone rushed outside to the car to stare in wonder. She blinked in surprise, "Wow…how nice, I didn't think everyone would be so eager to help."

"They haven't had this much food come in at once in a long time…"

The brunette smiled at her husband and set the bags down. But as she thought back to her encounter earlier, she began chewing on her lower lip anxiously. "Kosuke-san, I saw this boy while I was in town, I'm pretty sure he's like everyone here, but I wonder why he was on the streets. I mean no child in their right mind would be wandering around on the streets that early in the morning, especially if they had wings. You'd think he'd be a home or maybe hiding..."

Kosuke smiled and helped Towa put the food away, "You're stressing yourself out, Emiko-san. I'm sure there's a reason he was out there."

"I suppose you're right, but I can't stand the thought of children on the streets, especially when it's fixing to snow. It's freezing outside!"

"Yes it is! And Argen-chan was lucky enough to get hit with the first snowflake of the day!"

"No I didn't! You're the one who started yelling about a piece of dust falling and you smacked me!"

"It was a snowflake! And I 'smacked' you so you could be _hit_ with the first snowflake!"

"Liar! It was a speck of dust! You just wanted to hit me!"

"No it wasn't!"

Dark and Argentine went stomping into the house, they set the food down on the table and almost immediately began pulling at each other's faces. "Lying old man!"

"Ungrateful brat!"

Ruby eyes blinked at the sight before him, "Do they always fight?"

Riku sighed and nodded, "It's nothing serious so you can ignore them. They're only on their third fight, expect at least five more. It's a daily thing around here."

Daisuke gave a little laugh, "Wow…they're so energetic."

"I suppose you can call them that…if you wanted to be nice about it. We figured that the word _insane_ was a better term."

"That's just hurtful, Riku-chan!"

"I'm not insane! He is!"

The brunette looked over and rolled her eyes, "Live with it, and you call yourselves boys…"

Dark huffed, "And you call yourself a girl…"

"Yea, the old man's right…for once."

Brown eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at the pair, "What was that?"

The two gave identical smiles as they waved their hands almost frantically, "Nothing, nothing! You're just the coolest girl on the face of the planet, that's all!"

"That's what I thought…"

Daisuke gave a nervous smile, "W-wow…Harada-san sure knows how to keep everyone in line…"

* * *

"I'm back."

"I was afraid you wouldn't be able to find anything."

He shook his head and returned the other's outerwear back to him. "Here's your coat. Sorry, it took awhile to find something that was affordable and actually fit properly."

"Is it warm?" He accepted his jacket and smiled as the boy nodded, "That's good then."

Blue eyes watched as the elder of the two counted their remaining money with a glassy look in his eyes. Anxiously, he called to the other questioningly, "…Krad?"

His attention snapped back to the younger boy, he smiled and put away what little money they had left, "We'll be fine Satoshi, don't worry."

* * *

"Ehhh? So you mean Dark has gone out with almost every girl here before?"

"That's right, except me. He seems pretty proud of himself, I mean, he wouldn't stop bragging about how he had girls lining up to date him back at home and all that. Anyways, he went out and broke up with Rika before we got here, then when me and Risa got here, they went out for a bit. I mean they're all still friends, but I guess it just didn't work out like Risa wanted it to. Towa-san…I'm not sure whether he has or not."

Daisuke blinked, "What about Harada-san?"

"Me? You can call me Riku you know, if you keep calling me Harada-san, I won't know who you're talking about. And as for Dark…" She gave a smile, "I'm not into perverts."

* * *

The next day, it began to snow.

Emiko sighed and headed over to the window to watch frosty white flakes of snow dancing as they fell from the sky. She crossed her arms loosely and gave a sigh, fogging up the glass slightly. Snow ws beginning to build up off the ground, she frowned wistfully and continued watching the sky, "…I wonder if the little birds got shelter from the cold…"

* * *

Nya

Back from my not so lovely trip to that lovely place where I bought a lovely jacket and got no sleep and got sick... But anyways, yea, I'm back and still mean :P I rather enjoy having people live on the street, not real people, never _real_ people o.O Why? Because that's just mean...in a not so cool way. I decided to include Argentine in this :D because I heart him so for kidnapping Risa, but I disapprove of his obsession over her :S I figured, if he wasn't so obsessed with her, and if he wasn't theevil genius, villain 'd probably be a normalish kid who'd bicker alot, especially with Dark,no? Here's the next chapter! Don't feed hamsters cookies!


	3. Chapter 2

Little Birds

Chapter 2:

It was the day after, when the snow finally died down. The weather and road conditions weren't terrible; it was enough to drive a car through at least. Emiko looked at their supplies with contempt, it was still quite full at the moment, but it wouldn't last _that_ long, not at the rate the children ate at. And unable to take her mind off the child she saw the other day on the street, she got up and grabbed her keys, "I'll go get more groceries, wouldn't want to run out in the middle of a blizzard."

It was the perfect excuse.

Chestnut eyes watched her understandingly, he nodded his silent consent, "Please be careful."

She smiled at her husband as she wrapped a scarf around her neck, "I will, thank you."

Both Kosuke and Daiki watched as she left the place. The elderly man shook his head and sighed, "That Emiko…she can never stop herself from helping children in need…she's simply overloaded on that motherly instinct to protect and shelter, you know?" He paused and looked up from his tea with a chuckle, "I couldn't have asked for a better daughter."

* * *

It was also on that day when the blue haired boy woke up next to the other who was shivering and breathing into his hands in attempt to warm them up. Despite the snow that covered the scenery around them, he felt surprisingly warm. That was when he realized that he had two coats on, "Krad?"

The blonde looked over and spoke through gritted teeth, "Good morning, it's not snowing as hard today…"

"Why'd you take off your coat? You need it too!"

"Don't worry, I've only taken it off for a bit, you were coughing and shaking in your sleep."

Satoshi could tell by how much paler the other had turned, that it hadn't just been 'a bit' since he'd taken it off. Immediately, he took the jacket off and handed it back to the blond, "What about you? You can't just go and take off your coat in the middle of winter!"

He covered his mouth and gave a cough before waving offhandedly, "I'll be fine. Go get breakfast. I'm starving."

Blue eyes watched the other uncertainly before he finally gave a nod and walked away with their money in hand. Golden eyes watched silently. He gave another cough and shivered, he could barely feel his hands or feet. Slumping down and curling up to warm himself up, _this __isn't __good_, he thought to himself, _it __won't __do __if __we __both wind__up __sick__…_

* * *

The brunette's mind was preoccupied.

_That __boy__…__he __looked __about __Dai-chan's __age__…_

She couldn't imagine having her son out on the street for anything. She tried to reassure herself with little result.

_Maybe __he's __home __right __now, __sleeping, __maybe __he's__…__still __out __there __on __the __streets__…_

* * *

When he headed back, he blinked at the sight of the blond on the ground, "Krad?" Setting down the food he'd bought, he gave the other a light shake and was rewarded with stillness. The snow began falling again. Frowning, he shook the other again, harder this time, and when he received no response, he began to panic. He continued calling the other's name until the blond finally gave a cough and stirred slightly. His mind began to race, _he __needs __help__…__but __who? __There's __got __to __be __a __person __who __isn't __like __him __around __here!_ He dashed out on the streets and looked around, _who can I ask? What if they make us go back?_

The sound of a car caught his attention, _that __lady __again__…_he swallowed his fears and ran towards the car.

* * *

Emiko was looking around when suddenly she spotted the boy she'd seen the other day and he was heading towards her with a desperate look on his face. She stopped the car and got out. "Is something wrong?"

The boy pointed down the street, looking out of breath and ready to cry. "Please…please help my brother…"

Without hesitation, she nodded, "Where is he?" She followed the boy down the snowy street and turned into an alleyway. Gasping at the sight before her, she could only stare at the messy golden strands of wet and nearly frozen hair which belonged another boy around Dark's age. His eyes were closed tightly, he was shaking and wrenching coughs every now and then, showing no sign that he was aware of her presence. She turned to his brother. "Hurry, help me get him into the car."

* * *

Azure orbs watched as the woman walked over and hauled his brother up as gently as she could. Quickly, he stepped over to help, and together they managed to drag the blond back to the car and laid him in the backseat, "Ma'am? Is he going to be alright?"

The lady gave him a motherly smile, "Of course, dear, don't worry. My place isn't too far from here, we can let him rest there. We'll take care of him and make sure he gets better, alright?"

He nodded, feeling himself calm down at her reassurances. Glad he had found someone as kind as she was, quietly, he let out a "thank you, ma'am."

* * *

Emiko watched the boy from the corner of her eye as she drove, judging from their clothes, they didn't appear to be orphans or anything close. No, they were well dressed, almost to the point of luxurious, or would've been, if the snow hadn't damaged their clothing. She turned her head slightly, "You know, I have a son about your age, his name is Daisuke. What's yours?"

The boy looked over and muttered something she could barely make out. She couldn't tell whether it was from the cold, mistrust, or if the boy was just shy.

"Satoshi…Hikari Satoshi."

"I'm Niwa Emiko." The blue haired boy gave a nod to acknowledge the fact that he had heard her. He was shivering, both of them were. She gave a frown and looked up the road, never in her life had she felt so desperate to see the snow-covered roof of her house.

* * *

Over the days spent in the cabin, it didn't take Daisuke very long to figure out whose role was what. The 'elder group' consisted of Rika and Dark. Rika was more or less the 'mature older sister' of the group while Dark was the 'teasing elder brother' and the 'fashion police'. If he said that didn't like the way something looked on someone, it probably wasn't flattering. No one questioned his taste, not even the girls. Though he had plenty of mature moments, it seemed that majority of the time, he simply liked being carefree and cheery.

In the 'kids' group, were the rest of them. Riku was the tomboy, and probably the one girl who never liked Dark at any point of her life. Her twin, Risa, was more on the feminine side, she resembled Rika a lot, but less mature, and she talked more…so more youthful basically. Argentine was the one Dark dubbed 'the brat'. He and Dark argued constantly, picking at each other's mistakes and etcetera. And in between the elder group and the kids group, was Towa. Towa was the mother hen of the place, if someone was sick or injured, she'd be there to take care of them. She also cooked for them and nagged them when they forget to clean up after themselves. Everyone listened to her, after all, a mother hen's wrath was the worse in the world.

To put it simply, out of the mentioned, Towa and Rika were in charge.

* * *

"Where did Emiko-san go?"

Kosuke turned and smiled at the children, "Emiko-san went to buy more groceries before we get snowed in or something. You know, worst case scenarios."

Green eyes blinked, Towa spoke up, "But our storage is still full, despite how much Dark eats."

"It's not just me! It's Argen-chan, too!"

"Stop calling me that! You eat more than me, you pig!"

"I'm growing!"

Rika sighed and shook her head as she picked up a cookie to eat, "I suppose boys will be boys…"

Dark looked over, "That was mine!"

She raised a brow and looked over, "Oh? Now biscuits have become your property? I'm sorry Dark, I didn't see your name on it."

Argentine laughed, "You got told off by Rika!"

Violet eyes narrowed, "Say that again. I dare you."

The elderly man gave a laugh, "So young and full of exuberance. Back in my days, I used to be able to argue like that for hours nonstop. We'd run around the field all day, running away from our parents, responsibilities, everything…those were the good old times. How I miss those days…"

There was a pause before Dark eagerly changed the subject, "I bet my wings are bigger than _all_ of yours!"

The blonde frowned and crossed his arms, "That's not fair, mine aren't even fully grown yet, only yours and Rika-"

"Not quite Argen-chan, my brattiest. My wings are still growing and will be much, _much_ longer than an elephant's trunk when they're finished, I can assure you of that much."

Giggles were heard.

Argentine rolled his eyes, "Stop bragging."

"I'm not, it's simply the truth. Watch, Dai-chan over here will probably have super gigantic wings as well. Isn't that right, Dai-chan?"

He flashed him a grin that he couldn't say no to, "I-I guess?"

Suddenly, he was hugged by the elder boy, "You're so agreeable, unlike some brat I can name…"

Argentine rolled his eyes again, and Risa giggled, "Niwa-kun's probably a lot like his father."

Daisuke gave a blush and rubbed the back of his neck, "N-not really…"

Dark's pet rabbit looked up from his lap and gave a 'kyu?'

* * *

Brown eyes narrowed, it was snowing harder and harder as they drove onwards. She looked at the boys again, the elder one showed no signs of waking up from his feverish dreams, and the other was anxiously staring out the window, shivering as he did. "It looks like the storms hitting earlier than I expected…"

_Thank god I found these two in time._

* * *

"My wings aren't _that_ small! They're bigger than Daisuke's!"

Dark laughed and flapped his wings a couple times, "They'll grow in time I suppose, but for the time being, they're tiny to _me_. And just you watch, Daisuke's wings will outgrow yours soon enough. You mark my words, Argen-chan!"

He was interrupted when the sound of a car was heard driving up to the place. Kosuke quickly got up wiith a relieved look on his face, "Looks like Emiko-san's back."

Suddenly, the door burst open and the brunette called from the doorway, "Kosuke-san! Quick!"

His smile disappeared from his face as he immediately jogged outside.

Dark blinked and looked around, "What was that about?" His question earned him many shrugs from the rest of the group.

But it was answered a moment later when the man appeared again, and in his arms, he carried an unconscious boy, shaking and wet, snowflakes melted in his hair and on his clothes. The group watched him as he headed straight for Dark's room and set the boy down onto the bed. A moment later, Towa got up and ran over to help.

Emiko entered after Kosuke, "Dai-chan, go and lend Satoshi-kun some clothes alright?"

Then she, too, disappeared into the room.

Daisuke blinked, "…what's going on?"

* * *

Satoshi stepped into the house as fast as his near frozen feet would carry him. He closed the door behind him and took off his shoes before stepping inside any further. When he reached the living room, he froze as all the stares of the other children fell on him. _They __all __have __wings__…_

Then the redhead of the group got up and headed towards him, "You must be Satoshi-kun, I'll get you a dry set of clothes, over here please."

Too stunned, he gave a nod and followed the redhead. Warily, he watched the group as he walked by, they were all staring at him silently, probably confused on what was happening. Upon entering the other's room, he was immediately handed a set of dry clothes, "Thank you…"

The boy gave a nod and smiled, "No problem. Oh, I'm Niwa Daisuke by the way."

"Hikari Satoshi…"

Daisuke gave a nod and headed out of the room so he could change.

* * *

Ruby eyes blinked, _I __should __probably __get __him __a __towel, __he __must __be __wet __from __all __that __snow__…_he made his way to the bathroom to grab his towel and jogged back, opening the door as the boy was taking off his jacket. "Satoshi-kun…I thought you might want a towel…"

Both of the stopped when they saw the other, Satoshi gave a hesitant nod, "…thank you…"

He on the other hand, continued to gawk, "Satoshi-kun, you have wings too?" Blue eyes blinked and he gave yet another awkward nod causing Daisuke snapped out of his daze, "Oh! I'm sorry, I'll leave you to change. Just come out to the living room when you're done."

He watched the boy run out of the room before nodding again, "Alright…"

* * *

"Niwa-kun's so obedient…"

"Unlike some people in this room…"

Both Dark and Argentine looked away as the girls directed their stares at them. Then Daisuke came back out, "Dai-chan, any idea what's going on?"

The redhead shook his head and sat down, "Satoshi-kun's changing."

"Satoshi? That's the short one right?" Daisuke nodded, "I see…" Dark raised his hand in greeting, "in fact, I see him right now, hello, one they call Satoshi."

The blue haired boy gave him a strange look before nodding. Ruby eyes blinked a couple times, "Are you still cold, Satoshi-kun? Would you like a blanket or a drink or something?"

He shook his head, "I'm fine…thank you."

Rika held up the plate of sweets that Towa had baked earlier, "Are you hungry?"

He suddenly remembered that he had missed his previous meal and gave a small nod, accepting the food, "Thank you." His eyes looked about, "Where's my brother?"

"That was a guy?" Dark blinked in astonishment before correcting himself, "Uhh…I mean…what big wings you have! How old are you?"

The blond beside him snickered, "Smooth…real sensitive of you." It earned him a whack on the head.

Satoshi looked at the boy strangely, "Fourteen…"

Amethyst eyes looked over at the redhead, trying to distract everyone from his earlier awkwardness, "Hey Dai-chan, he's your age."

Daisuke gave a nod and turned back to the newcomer, "don't worry about your brother, kaa-chan and tou-san are taking care of him."

"And Towa-chan too."

The redhead nodded again, "Yea…Towa-chan's there too. They're in Dark's room."

Blue eyes widened, "They can't! His wings-" he stopped himself before finishing off his sentence. Unfortunately, he had already caught the attention of everyone.

"Satoshi-kun…what's wrong?"

He shook his head and stared at his feet, chewing on his lower lip, "It's nothing..."

* * *

"Kosuke-san, he's going to need dry clothes." He gave a nod and headed out of the room to find clothes for the blonde who laid shivering on the bed. Emiko looked over at the silver haired girl, "Towa-chan, help me get his jacket off."

Towa gave a nod and set down the towels and blankets she had in her arms. She moved over to one side of the bed and helped the boy sit up as they peeled the wet piece of clothing away from him, both their eyes widened at the sight. "These are…"

* * *

Nya

Yes! A relatively loser-ish (one that only a loser such as myself can pull off) cliffie :D because I'm such a loser! Yay! School's starting soon D: which is indeed very, relatively horrible, seeing that I won't be able to get as much sleep and I'd like to get (half a day's pretty decent) XP hmmm with any luck I'll be able to update during the school year, not as much but still update, or so I'm hoping. Please don't ask me why I've updated this fic 3 times in a row, I personally don't know because my brain's quite jammed at the moment.

And for those who are interested and/or confused, Argentine is from the manga, volume 10 and up, and Rika's from the anime, she's their grandma . but not in this fic! XD So yea...any other questions just ask :) Buhbye, enjoy.


	4. Chapter 3

Little Birds

Chapter 3:

They were wings.

Large white wings.

Wings so mangled and twisted that there wasn't any hope of them ever being able to take flight.

The boy's brows furled slightly in his sleep as Emiko covered her mouth in shock at the cruelty of it all, "Who would do such a thing?"

By this time, Kosuke returned only to see the two gaping, "Emiko-san…"

* * *

The group was staring at the silent boy curiously as they continued on with their snacks. Rika had already taken the role as an elder sister for the boy and made sure he had enough to eat and drink while Towa was still helping out the adults. "Are you still hungry or anything, Satoshi-kun?"

He shook his head, he couldn't help but stare at her brown wings which were darker in color compared to the twins' wings which were shaded in colors of coffee and cinnamon, "I'm fine, thank you."

"They're both so proper…" Dark whispered to Argentine who nodded in agreement.

"You're just jealous because you don't have a single classy bone in your body."

"That's not true." He flicked the younger boy on the forehead, "I'm _made_ up of classy bones!"

Blue eyes looked over at the two, the black winged one and the dark tuscan red winged one, "…can I see my brother?"

"In a minute, it sounds like they're just about done."

Dark grinned at the boy, "Don't worry so much, Towa-chan wouldn't leave the room until she was sure your brother's alright."

"He's right you know…for once, I mean him being right occurs about as often as a solar eclipse."

"Take that back, Argen-chan!"

"It's Argentine!"

Blue eyes blinked, "…are they related?"

Daisuke gave a soft laugh, "It seems like it, doesn't it? But I don't think they are."

"Like I'd be related to _this_ retard!"

"It'd be a sin if we were!"

The two glared at each other, but were interrupted when the door to Dark's room was opened and the adults stepped out, "Satoshi-kun?"

The blue haired boy got up and looked over, "Yes? How is he?"

Emiko gave a warm smile, "He'll be fine, mild frostbite on his hands and a fever, but it'll pass. He's still asleep right now, so it'd probably be best to just let him rest. You can see him if you'd like." Satoshi gave a nod and headed into the room, the mother looked over, "Dark…you're going to have to share a room with Argentine-kun for awhile until his brother gets better. And Dai-chan, would you mind sharing a room with Satoshi-kun?"

Daisuke gave a nod while Dark and Argentine stared at each other in disbelief, "With this guy? No way!"

"What if he snores?"

"What if he has nightmares?"

"What if he sleepwalks?"

"What if he gropes me while I sleep?"

"Ew! You only wish!"

"No Argen-chan, _you_ wish."

"Boys! He's still resting!"

The two grumbled and silenced themselves when Towa came out and glared at the two. Dark looked over and whispered in the younger boy's ear, "Is it just me, or are we getting overpowered by the female population here?"

"It's not just you."

"I didn't think so."

* * *

Blue eyes scanned over the room where the silver haired girl was tucking his brother in, she looked up cheerfully, "He's going to be fine, he just needs time to rest," she skipped over to the door, "well, time to make lunch. Just call if you need anything, alright?"

A moment later, outside the door, he could hear her yelling at the others, _"What do you mean you're full off of cookies?"_

_"Oh no! Towa-chan's going to go through her cooking withdrawal again! She can't go over an hour without cooking something delicious!"_

_"No I won't! There's no such thing! I'll…just go bake more cookies, yea, I'll go do that, **now."**_

Satoshi walked over to the bed and sighed, "At least _something_ good's finally happening to us…" He received no response from the other. Letting out a sigh, he left the room to head back to where the other winged children were bickering, "please wake up soon…"

* * *

"…do you think we can stay here until my brother wakes up?"

Emiko blinked before smiling widely, he had to be the first person to ask to stay, and not permanently either, "Of course you can! You're so polite! You can stay longer than that, you don't have anywhere you have to be, do you?"

Satoshi shook his head, "Wouldn't it be troublesome for you-"

"Nonsense! You two will stay as long as you like, there's plenty of room left in this house! Don't you even considering leaving until all this snow clears up, do you hear me?"

The blue haired boy gulped visibly and nodded, "yes ma'am, thank you…"

* * *

And so, a few days past, he checked on his brother at least four times a day. Much to his relief, his complexion was back to normal and the fever had past. Unfortunately, he still hadn't woken up yet. As part of his routine, before heading off to bed, he stood over the unconscious figure to bid the blond goodnight. Satoshi gave a yawn, "Goodnight Krad…please wake up soon."

He closed the light behind him and stepped out of the room.

"How is he?"

Blue eyes looked over at his newfound friend, or what he considered a friend and shrugged, "He's still asleep."

The redhead gave a reassuring smile, "Don't worry too much about it, Satoshi-kun. He'll wake up soon, you just wait and see."

Satoshi couldn't help but give a small smile as he nodded, "Yea…thank you."

* * *

Golden eyes fluttered open later that night, he shifted and sat up, pulling the blanket off of himself only to find his hands bandaged neatly. With the pale moonlight shining palely through the window, the room he resided in was made visible to him. Carefully, and as quietly as he could, he moved off the bed and stood up, letting the momentary dizziness from having laid down so long, pass away.

_Where __am __I?_ He tested his fingers to see how much he could move them, _where's __Satoshi?_ Mind resolved, he stepped out of the room to find his brother. There was a dim light coming from down the hall, so instead of turning into the other rooms nearby, he made his way slowly towards the light. The blonde's eyes narrowed when he stepped into the well lit area and found himself in the kitchen.

"Oh, so you're awake."

Krad gave a start and looked over at the boy who was standing some ways away, making himself a sandwich. Though what caught his attention wasn't the sandwich, it was the fact that the other boy also had wings. He blinked and nodded to what the other boy said. His original plan was to reply with words, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he found that the words wouldn't come out.

The boy looked over, "You lost your voice?" Another nod, "hm…Emiko-san said something like this might happen." He scratched his head, "oh well, we'll just make the best of this situation, hn? You want a sandwich?"

He shook his head, still too dazed to feel any hunger pangs. The other shrugged, "Alright, whatever floats your boat. I'm Dark, by the way. You're in the Niwa's house, it's…I suppose you can call it a refuge for people with wings like yours…" There was a pause when he caught sight of the other's wings. Then quickly, he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "…oh…uh…sorry."

The blond looked away and stepped back awkwardly to conceal his wings in the darkness of whichever room was connected to the kitchen, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

Dark immediately took a step forward, concern clearly written on his face, "Hey, look, I'm really sorry, please don't take it the wrong way. I didn't mean to be rude or anything, I mean…I like them if that counts for anything...or I hardly noticed them at all? Or maybe I should just shut up now…"

The violet haired boy took another bite out of his sandwich, there was a moment of silence between the two. "You're probably wondering where your brother is." He pointed at the black corridor, "He's in the left corridor, the first room to your right. If you need anything at all, I'm currently sleeping in the room next to that one."

Krad nodded his thanks and walked as instructed into the bedroom. He could make out the shape of a bunk-bed and on the bottom bunk was where the silhouette of his brother laid. He walked over and looked down, _at __least __he's __alright__… _Satisfied, he headed back to the room he had emerged from and slipped back under the covers. _Morning__…_he thought to himself, _I'll __get __this __figured __out __in __the __morning__…_

* * *

The next morning, he awoke again, but this time, he found a brunette woman in the room with him. She was smiling, more so when noticed his confused stare, "so you really _are_ awake!" He sat up and nodded silently, "Dark told me you lost your voice. Don't worry, it's nothing permanent. Same with the bandages, you just had mild frostbite on your hands, that's all. Oh! You must be starving! Come join us for breakfast, just follow the loud voices and you'll get there."

Then she left the room, Krad sat up and watched her leave, _that's__…__Emiko-san then?_

* * *

Satoshi watched the brunette make her way to the table rather happily, he gave a polite nod, still not accustomed to the casualness of the place, "good morning."

"Good morning Satoshi-kun." She gave him an extra happy grin and made her way into the kitchen to help Towa out. Blue eyes blinked curiously, wondering what had gotten into the woman to get her into such a good mood. His question was answered but a moment later when a figure emerged from the corridor, long, still tangled golden hair flowing as he walked soundlessly towards the table.

"Krad…you're awake…" he whispered quietly and stood up, staring at the other.

Emiko poked her head back out from the kitchen, "Krad-kun, you made it! You must be hungry, we're going to have an extra big breakfast today!" The announcement was responded by several cheers around the table. She looked at Satoshi, "Take it easy on your brother, he's temporarily lost his voice."

The blue haired boy gave a nod almost immediately, "Thank you, er…I mean I'm sorry…" he looked down hastily. His brother walked over, he placed a hand on the other's head and looked at him, giving him one of his rarer smiles. As though by instinct, he immediately sat down, he looked at his brother's hands with concern. "…do they hurt?"

Krad shook his head, there was a pause when someone blew their nose, the two looked over at Towa and Risa who were crying heartily, "That's so touching!"

"I know! I wish I had a brother!" This caused Riku to raise a brow. "This is better than watching a movie!"

"Movies aren't _this_ heartwarming." And while they sobbed, Kosuke had grabbed a chair for the blonde to sit in while the indoor drama/comedy continued.

Daisuke and Argentine looked over and began laughing. Dark gave a lazy grin, "Girls nowadays, they're so easily touched." He looked over to Riku and Rika, "With some exceptions of course."

The elder twin gave a huff and threw her fork across the table, violet eyes widened, grabbing the boy next to him as a human shield. The sandy blonde stopped laughing and attempted to get out of the way, it resulted in both of them getting hit on the head. Argentine looked over angrily as he rubbed his head, "What was that for?"

Dark returned the glare, "Why'd _you_ move?"

"You're the one who pulled me over!"

"And for a reason obviously!"

The younger boy narrowed his eyes, "I'll get you back for that…"

"Hm? Interesting proposal, bring it on!"

The two received another smack on the head, this time by Emiko, "Boys! No fighting at breakfast! Do it afterwards! This is no way to act in front of these two! You'll scare them away, I'm surprised they haven't left already!"

The two held their heads again, grumbling and returning to their now filled plates in front of them. With one last glare at each other, they began to eat. Riku gave a grin, "Serves you two right."

Emiko gave a sudden outburst, "You haven't been introduced to them yet! We'll make sure we'll do it after breakfast, so eat up!"

* * *

Golden eyes blinked at the strange scene before him, then silently, he began to eat. The other children and one of the adults sitting around the table all had wings, he couldn't help but shift slightly uncomfortably in his seat.

He glanced over at his brother who sat beside him, eating contently. Krad paused before returning his attention back to the food. He figured that if he concentrated hard enough, his self-consciousness would go away.

It didn't.

* * *

"So Krad-san, you're Satoshi-kun's brother?"

The blonde nodded as he sat on the couch, with his hands neatly folded in his lap.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, Argentine and Dark were outside having a snowball fight to settle their earlier argument even though they probably forgot what they were fighting about in the first place. After that was done and over with, they watched the others from the window. Argentine took a breath, a puff of smoke emerging from his mouth, "That new guy…his wings…"

Amethyst eyes looked over and huffed, "Way to judge someone by their wings, I didn't think you'd be the shallow type."

He shook his head, "No, you idiot, that's not what I meant, you loser. He seems too classy to-never mind, I was just wondering who or what happened to him. You should know that I don't discriminate through outer appearances," he crossed his arms, "I discriminate through inner stupidity."

Dark raised a brow, gathering and forming a snowball in his hands, "Just for that, you're going to get a snowball down your shirt, Argen-chan."

The sandy blonde backed away, "No-no-no-no-no! Stay away from me!"

* * *

There was a screech outside causing the boys left inside to turn their heads while the girls paid it no heed. Rika sipped her tea, "Don't mind them, this is just their daily routine. They need their exercise after all."

Krad shot his brother a questioning look which was returned with a shrug, he looked back at the girls. Suddenly, the door was opened forcefully and the two ran inside. Kicking their boots off quickly, the blonde ran straight into the bathroom and locked the door. Dark ran after him with his murderous intent clear as day. His face was slightly flushed from the cold, and the back of his shirt was completely soaked through, "Get back out here, Argen-chan!"

"It's Argentine, and no! You can't make me! I'll live in here until you die, or I die, whichever comes first."

"Oh that won't take very long. I'm going to pick the lock if you don't open up."

The younger boy gave a horrified yell, "You wouldn't dare!"

* * *

"Like I said before, a daily routine, pay them no attention." The blonde blinked and gave a small nod, turning back to the girl. _What's __going __on?_

Then Towa walked in with a tray of assorted baked goods, "Who's up for a snack?"

Golden eyes blinked again in confusion, _huh?_

* * *

Nya

Poor Krad's very confused in his new environment. But at least he's awake now. I've actually taken quite a liking to Argentine, he's...how would you word it? Hmm...a good character to use? I have no idea :P my terminology is crap. Anyways...whoo! Friday the 13th! XD Enjoy


	5. Chapter 4

Little Birds

Chapter 4:

After a few days, Krad was finally able to take the bandages off his hands. Cautiously bending each finger to test whether they could still move or not, he was pleased to see that nothing suffered permanent damage. He'd gotten used to wearing Kosuke's clothing and most of the random events that happened in this very lively house. "They're all better now, right?"

He looked over at the redhead and his brother and nodded. Over the days, he had yet to regain his voice, but he didn't mind. His lack of voice might've been why they hadn't ask about his wings yet. That, or perhaps they'd be too polite to ask, but their curiosity was bound to cave in sooner or later. A moment later two more faces popped up beside the younger pair, all the boys were there staring at them, "…so we don't need to amputate anything?"

The blond raised a brow at Dark, Argentine rolled his eyes and remarked snidely, "if we needed to amputate something, it'd be your brain-oh that's right, you don't have one."

"Stupid brat…" he scowled and launched himself at the younger boy and the two promptly disappeared from sight.

And so, it was only him and the younger boys again. "Krad," he looked over at his brother, "what are we going to do now?"

He shook his head, he hadn't the slightest idea as to what they were going to do next.

Satoshi gave a small shrug, "I guess we're staying here, at least until you get better right?" His brother nodded, he gave another shrug to hide the slight tinge of happiness he felt at the prospect of staying. "Alright then…"

* * *

The next day, there wasn't much to do, the group was inside watching an old movie on the television and eating the cookies that Towa had baked. The blond had decided to go outside, he was surprised to find the other boy there. Amethyst eyes looked over and blinked, "fancy seeing you out here."

He gave a nod and picked up a twig to write in the snow, likewise. W_hy __are __you __out __here?_

Dark kneeled in front of him to read the question, "me? I've watched that movie about a dozen times now, what about you?"

_Didn't feel like watching it._

"Oh…well I guess you can keep me company then."

_Alright…_

There was a pause between the two before Dark began packing snow together to form a ball. He looked over and grinned, "Feel like making a snowman with me?" His grin grew even wider when he looked over and saw the blonde's slightly bewildered look. "Come on, it's just a snowman, have you never made one before?"

Krad shook his head.

The other boy contemplated something for a moment before he nodded to himself and smiled, "I see…well then, I'll just have to teach you how then, won't I? Come on, grab some snow and we'll make the biggest snowman these guys have ever seen!"

* * *

When the movie ended, Daisuke had gone out to get the two back into the house. He paused at the door and stared at the sight before him, Satoshi stood beside him with a bewildered look on his face, "what are they doing…?"

Another moment later, Argentine was beside them with a bored look on his face, "…interesting…I never thought Dark had it in him to create something without screwing it up completely."

Dark looked over from the snowman, "hey Argen-chan, instead of standing there and talking to yourself, why don't you come out here and help out? You too Dai-chan, Satoshi." The three obediently got their shoes on and stepped out into the snow to help.

* * *

Emiko rested her hands on her hips with an exasperated sigh, "where are those boys! I told Dai-chan to go and fetch them hours ago! It's almost time for dinner!" She opened the door and looked outside, "Dai-chan?"

"Over here, kaa-chan!"

She looked up and spotted a rather large looking snowman smiling at her with five flushed and content faces. She smiled, "that's wonderful boys, but you can come out again _after_ dinner." With that, she headed back inside, humming a happy tune.

* * *

Dark turned around with a proud grin, "not bad, if I do say so myself."

The sandy blond boy behind him rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, "that's just 'cause you had help…"

He decided to ignore the comment and turned to the blond, "how was that for your first time making a snowman?"

Krad looked over and smiled, taking his hand, fingers writing lightly over the other's palm, _it __was __fun. __Thank __you._

Glad that his cheeks were already tinted from the cold, Dark grinned, "No need to be so polite now."

From behind the two, Argentine gave a snort, "at least he knows _how_ to be polite…"

Amethyst eyes looked over, the grin still on his face, "you go in first, I have something to deal with." He grabbed a handful of snow and walked back to the other boy and promptly shoved it down his back.

"H-hey! That's cold! Get back here old man!" He packed himself a snowball and ran after the older boy, who in turn, ran back towards the house, laughing his head off the entire way.

* * *

By the time they were finished their snowball fight, they were both covered in snow. Towa's eyes widened immensely as she stood up and ushered the two into the washroom to dry them off. Daisuke looked over and listened to the profuse apologies that were spewing from the two which was accompanied by the girl's yelling.

The girls began to laugh, he gave a smile at the warm sound. Then he heard a chuckle and looked over to find the blue haired boy trying to stifle his laughter, he felt his grin widen by degrees. Even a small smile wormed its way onto the blonde's lips as they all listened to the three arguing.

"_Towa-chan! It wasn't my fault! Argen-chan started it!"_

_"Stop calling me that! You're the one who started it!"_

_"No!"_

_"Yea! Stop lying, old man!"_

_"Take that back, brat!"_

_"Make me!"_

_"Oh you want me to make you huh? Get back here small fry, you're hiding behind a girl now?"_

_"No I'm not! Fat fry!"_

_"French fry!"_

_"…fried fried!"_

_"…why are you two still_ _arguing! We're all supposed to be eating dinner by now! You're ruining my schedule! I will personally strangle the two of you if you don't stop yelling and go dry off already!"_

There was a pause, then Dark spoke up, _"…Towa-chan…do you really want to stick around while we dry off? Seeing that we have to change and all that…"_

Towa gave a squeak and ran back to the dining room which was filled with laughter. She looked around and stammered, "W-what's so funny? Who cares about those two, let's just start without them."

"Start without who?"

The group looked over at Dark who had changed into one of his tank-tops and a loose jacket; Rika raised a brow, "isn't it cold in that? For some reason, you always seem underdressed, with the exception of summer."

"He's always like that…" Argentine grumbled from beside him, he shuffled over and took his seat.

"Nope, I'm not cold at all, I mean, I have a jacket on for a reason. Anyways, time to eat!" He took his seat and looked over at Towa, "…don't go into my room for awhile, you'll get a heart attack."

She looked over suspiciously, "why? What happened this time?"

"Dark's stupid wings decided to dry off so now, everything's covered in feathers…" pale violet eyes glared at the older boy who gave a sheepish grin in return.

Emiko cleared her throat, "boys, we can deal with that after, everyone's hungry so let's finish eating first."

The two gave a nod and promptly began to eat. The others watched them for a moment before deciding to join in.

* * *

That night, violet eyes opened sleepily, he was thirsty and had forgotten to drink something before going to bed. He shuffled into the kitchen, opened the fridge and grabbed the carton of milk. Chugging it down, he let out a content sigh before allowing his feet to direct him back to bed.

* * *

The next morning, Krad awoke to something warm pressed against him, he figured it was Satoshi and snuggled a bit. Then common sense and logic struck him like a truck. Satoshi wasn't that tall, he wore more clothes to sleep and he probably wouldn't have his arms around him. He opened his eyes, only to find himself staring at someone's chest barely concealed by a loose fitting tank top. His eyes wandered up to find violet strands of hair messily covering the person's eyes.

His face heated up within seconds, he opened his mouth but nothing came out. So he tried the next best thing by attempting to get out of the other's hold. It was then he realized, he had his own arms around the other's waist, he promptly let go and tried to wiggle free. Dark gave a soft growl and tightened his embrace, "not yet…just afew more minutes."

Slightly frustrated, he blinked a couple times before reaching up, cupping the other's face. Then he pulled on the offender's cheeks. Violet eyes fluttered open rather quickly, "uah?" Krad looked up and let go. The other blinked tiredly, "…Krad? What are you doing here? Why are you in my bed?" Krad raised a brow at the other, amethyst eyes looked around before frowning, "oh…_oh_, sorry, my bad." He unwrapped his arms and got out of bed, shivering a bit, he mumbled rather casually, "it's cold this morning, you better wear more stuff." Then he shuffled off to take a shower.

The blond shivered a bit as he sat up and watched the other leave, he had to admit, it felt nice having someone to cuddle with during winter. A few minutes later, he watched Argentine run towards the bathroom only to find it locked, he gave an irritated scream, "Dark! There better be hot water when I get in there!"

"Better luck tomorrow!"

"You stupid jerk!"

"I can't hear you! I'm too busy enjoying the _hot_ _water_!"

* * *

Krad slipped out of bed and closed the door to change, seeing that he wasn't going to get to shower anytime soon. At least not with warm water. The smaller blond looked over when he stepped out of his room, "can _you_ get him out?" He shook his head and shrugged, looking at the door to the bathroom, he decided he probably couldn't. Argentine sighed and dragged his feet back to his room, grumbling tiredly, "thanks anyways, I swear…one day…"

Golden eyes blinked before heading into the room his younger brother was staying in, there was a bunk bed, he found Satoshi in the lower one. He was still sleeping, as was the redhead above him, he smiled and turned around. "Kyu?" Krad looked around for the source of the sound, then two red eyes watched him happily. "Kyu?"

The blond tilted his head slightly, picking up the rabbit he stared at it. It probably wasn't normal for rabbits to make that kind of sound, but then he shrugged it off and stepped out of the room with it. And in return, the rabbit happily snuggled against him. The showers were still on when he walked past and headed for the kitchen.

* * *

Towa and Rika were up already, one cooking while the other read. They looked up when they spotted him, "good morning Krad-san."

He nodded his greetings back to the two. The girl with the silver wings smiled, "Emiko-san's just out buying more milk since someone drank all of it last night…and she went to buy you and Satoshi-kun clothes, too. Don't worry, she has wonderful taste in clothes." Golden eyes widened slightly, he pointed to himself, wondering if he heard right. "Yea, she's buying you two clothes."

Krad rubbed his neck awkwardly, he couldn't help but feel bad for making the poor woman go out there in the snow to spend money on them. Rika smiled, "no need to be embarrassed, we've all been through this. Emiko-san is a very generous woman, she's happy, spending money on others." He nodded again, still wishing she didn't have to go and spend all that money for their sake.

A sudden, "kyu?" brought him out of his trance, he looked down at the rabbit in his arms.

Towa looked over, "Hm? Why is With with you? I have food for him over here." At the sound of 'food', the rabbit happily hopped out of his arms and into the cooking area, "Dark really should learn how to feed his own rabbit."

"Why would I go and do something like that when you're more than happy to feed With for me? And don't even try to deny it."

The three looked over at Dark, hair still dripping wet, the elder girl frowned, "Dark, if you walk around with wet hair, it's going to freeze and snap off. And you should be grateful that Towa-chan helps you take care of With, he could be dead right now if he was strictly under your care."

Dark smiled and nodded, "of course I'm grateful, why wouldn't I be? And I'll dry off my hair in a sec, Argen-chan went back to sleep, right?" Towa nodded, he strolled over to Krad with a grin on his face, "there's still hot water left if you want to take a shower now, you know, before he wakes up." Golden eyes looked over to the boy's room hesitantly, "don't worry about it. He'll understand. Anyways, he's used to taking relatively cold showers. I mean a nice hot shower will do you good." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he added, "might help you get better sooner, you know…"

The blond nodded and gave a smile before walking off. Emerald eyes turned suspiciously over to the violet haired boy once the other was out of sight, "aren't _you_ kind and generous this morning, how very unlike you, Dark. Do you have something you'd like to tell me about? I mean you've never left hot water for anyone before…"

Amethyst eyes looked over in amusement, "come on, am I really _that_ bad? I mean the guy's sick. Anyways, am I not allowed to make it up to him for getting into the wrong bed at night?"

Rika nearly spat out her drink, "…did I hear you right?"

Dark looked over and laughed, "Not like that! Since when did you become so dirty-minded? Last night I got up for a drink and I forgot I was sleeping with Argen-chan so I crawled into bed with Krad."

"No wonder I slept so soundly last night…" Argentine looked over, slightly agitated as he rubbed his eyes, "none of Dark's snoring or mumbling…" he looked over and muttered sleepily, "Towa, can I have coffee?"

Towa frowned and placed her hands at her hips, "No you may not! You're not allowed any coffee until you finish growing! Don't you want to become taller than Dark?"

The elder boy scoffed, "good luck with that." Earning himself glares from two pairs of eyes, he looked away with a crooked grin and headed into the kitchen, "is there any milk left? If not, I'll have tea or whatever there is…hot chocolate?"

The silver haired girl frowned, "you drank all the milk last night, straight from the carton, too! You know how much that bugs me! And no, you're stuck with hot chocolate."

"Yea, yea, sorry, I was half-asleep. You know I don't think when I'm asleep-and no comments from you, Argen-chan."

"My name is Argentine!"

He smiled and walked over, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately, "of course it is, Argen-chan." Towa passed out the cups and looked around, "who's the extra cup for?"

"Krad-kun. Shouldn't he be out by now? I mean even though you said that there was hot water left, I doubt it'd last this long…"

Dark shrugged, "maybe he's fixing up his hair or something? He did have pretty long hair."

* * *

The blond gave a sigh as he wiped the steam from the mirror, he had his wet hair draped over one shoulder and only his pants on. He set down the towel onto the counter and looked past the reflection of his face and stared at his wings, he could feel them weighing down on his back slightly, more mental than physical. _Disgusting__…_the teen thought to himself.

He let his hand lightly run over one of his awkwardly angled wings that were half wrapped around him before looking down at his feet. Sometimes he wished they would just disappear. Then suddenly, there was someone pounding on the door and Towa's voice made its way through the wood, "Krad? Please tell me you're still alive and conscious…"

Then he heard Argentine's astonished voice, "you mean he fainted? Could he be dead?"

"Just pick the lock, Dark!"

"Alright! Why do I have to do it anyways?"

"Because we all know you're klepto."

"No I'm-"

"Shut up and pick the lock already!"

There was rustling before the door opened and all the people ended up piled at his feet. Argentine looked up with a slight pout, "liars, all of you. Look, he's alive and conscious…"

The sight of four heaped at his feet made his day. His lips twitched as he tried to suppress the laughs that desperately wanted to escape.

* * *

The younger four had awoken to the sound of the other four bickering and wearily made their way over to the source of the commotion. When they arrived, they were greeted with the sight of a pile of teenagers and the blond laughing soundlessly. Satoshi's eyebrow quirked, he couldn't find it in himself to get mad at them; even if they _did_ wake him up.

Daisuke kneeled down by the pile, while the girls were too busy laughing, "what happened?"

Dark looked up rather helplessly, "help…they're crushing me…I can't feel my limbs…Argen-chan needs to go on a diet…"

"Hey! I'm getting crushed too! If anyone needs to go on a diet…" he managed to stop himself in time when he realized who were on top of him, "...I'm fine."

Riku wiped the tears from her eyes from laughing too hard and helped her cousin off the pile while Risa helped Towa. The redhead smiled and pulled the blond to his feet, leaving a flattened Dark on the ground. The two who had people on top of them stretched out their limbs and wings, loosening them up from getting crushed.

Dark groaned and looked up, blinking when he saw a hand offered to him. His gaze traveled up to see the owner of the hand, he was slightly startled to see Krad smiling at him, he gave a grin and accepted the hand, getting pulled up, "thanks," he stretched, "those three need to lose some weight."

Towa crossed her arms, "just for that, you don't get breakfast."

"What? That's not fair! First you make me pick the lock, and then you fall on me, and now I don't get breakkfast?"

Just then, the front door opened, "we're back! Are you all awake yet? We brought back breakfast!"

Seven pairs of ears perked up as they scampered into the kitchen, quickly sitting around the table, eagerly waiting for food. Satoshi watched them disappear before turning back to his brother who had put his shirt on. Krad looked at him before writing on the steam that had fogged over the mirror once more.

_Not hungry?_

He shrugged, "not really."

_Is something wrong?_

The blue haired boy shook his head, "not really, it's just been awhile since I've gotten to see you laugh. I'm glad, that's all."

The blond looked over and gave him a happy smile before placing his hands on his shoulders and leading him towards the kitchen. Satoshi couldn't help but have a small smile placed on his own lips as they made their way to breakfast.

* * *

Nya

Whoaaa I updated! That took about a million years longer than expected...for which I am very sorry for :S I know I say it everytime, but I'll try to update my other fics sooner XD Other than that...it's almost Easter! I can't believe I thought Easter was in March...then May...then I figured it was in March and Good Friday was in May...yea...slightly strange XP


	6. Chapter 5

Little Birds

Chapter 5:

That night, Satoshi couldn't sleep, not with the nightmare of the day when they were running away from his father, hiding behind every corner of unconsciousness. So as a result, he got up, careful as to not wake anyone, grabbed a jacket and silently headed outside. As he wandered off, he left a trail of snowy footprints behind him. He wasn't sure how far or how long he'd been gone when he found a dry place to sit and think. Watching his breath dissolve into the air, he looked up at the cloudless skies, wondering just how small he was, sitting there, underneath billions of stars.

A cold breeze blew past him, causing him to shiver involuntarily. Taking a deep breath, he silently wrapped his wings around him and continued stargazing.

Before he knew it, his mind began to wander.

It wandered off to the thing he wanted to think about least.

Wings.

For as long as he could remember, his brother had had wings that were at least twice the size of his, maybe even triple. They were large and as white as snow.

And they were always covered in blood.

Not once had he seen his brother with the angel-like wings he imagined them being if they weren't so mangled. He tried to imagine what the elder would look like if the damage had been undone, but he couldn't, not anymore. No, just about every time he saw his brother, those snowy white feathers had always been painted in red or were abused to the point that they fell and dragged behind the blond.

It was terrible.

Then he thought of when _his_ wings began growing…

* * *

_When his wings started growing, he'd already become accustomed to seeing his brother's beaten ones Being ten at the time, the first thing he did was complain to the other about the irritating itch that'd developed near the middle of his back, "Krad…"_

_The blond turned around and blinked, "Yes, Sato? Is something wrong?"_

_He did his best to reach his back and scratched, "My back's itchy…"_

_The other pulled his hands away, "stop scratching," a sigh, "here, let me see…" he felt the back of his shirt get lifted up and the other's finger prodded the spot gently, "does it itch here?" He nodded, trying to reach it with his hands to scratch again, but the elder pulled his hand away, this time with a little more force, scolding him lightly as he did so, "no more scratching, Sato."_

_Satoshi let out a pout as he stood there and crossed his arms in attempt to obey the other's orders, "But Krad, it's really itchy."_

_Krad tugged his hand and pulled him towards the bathroom, "come on, how about you take a bath, okay? It'll help with the itching, and once you're done, I'll put some cream on it or something after."_

_He followed almost eagerly, wanting the itching to stop. "Krad…how long is this going to itch? It's really uncomfortable…I can't stand it, every time I think about it, it gets more itchy-and don't tell me not to think about it because I can't."_

_The other just smiled ruefully at him and ruffled his hair._

* * *

_In the bathroom, the elder began running a bath for him while he took his shirt off and stood in front of the mirror, staring in awe at the two small bumps that had formed, red from his scratching. Krad looked over, "hey Sato," he turned around and cocked his head, "don't tell father, **ever**, okay?"_

_Raising a brow curiously, he knew the other was being serious, but he couldn't help but ask anyways. "Why?"_

_The other sighed patiently, "Because he'll get angry."_

"_Oh__…__" __he __looked __up,__"hey __Krad, __do __you __think __I'll __grow __wings, __too?"_

_His brother had an unreadable expression on his face, then slowly, he asked, "Do you want to?"_

_He smiled and nodded excitedly, "yea, huge wings, then I'll be able to fly everywhere and look down at everyone and everything. That's what I want to do if I get wings, imagine how great that'd be, just flying through the sky like a bird. It sounds wonderful, doesn't it?"_

_The blond turned off the tap and smiled, "sounds like fun alright. Now, if you want to grow wings, stop scratching or they'll never come out. And hurry up and get into the tub before the water gets cold. I'll go find the cream, just come out when you're done and make sure father doesn't see you, alright?"_

_With that said, the other left the room._

* * *

After that day, he trusted his brother's judgment and avoided his father as much as possible. Luckily, his wings weren't noticeable, not yet. By the time they grew to the point that they couldn't be concealed by his clothes, Krad had taken to representing the both of them when talking to their father.

There were days when the elder couldn't move or get out bed after having 'talked' to their father.

* * *

_He was twelve at that time, and was realizing fast, exactly what was going on around the household he lived in. Stepping into his brother's room, he tried not to stare at the other even though the elder took no notice of him. He didn't know why he felt guilty, but the feeling was there, and it was eating him up as he approached his brother. He whispered softly to the other, incase he was asleep, "Krad? …are you awake?"_

_The blond remained facedown on his bed, letting out a weak, "…hm? What is it, Sato?"_

_Satoshi frowned and pulled up a chair by the other's bed, hoping to be able to help in one way or another, "are you okay?" It was stupid question, he knew it, but he asked anyways, "do you need me to bring you anything? You know, food or something?"_

"_I'm __fine__…__" __the __elder __shifted __a __little __and __froze __as __the __pain __set __in __once __more. __After __one __more __attempt at __moving __and __failing, __he __gave __up __and __remained __in __his __position __with __a __sigh._

_Still young and seeing his brother in such an immense amount of pain, tears welled up and began rolling down his face, "Krad…" the other turned his head and looked at him in confusion, "I'm so sorry Krad…this is all my fault isn't it?"_

_Golden eyes softening, Krad forced himself up with a cringe and held the other in a light embrace, unable to exert too much strength from his arms. The two sat there, ignoring the sheets which were being dyed red and covered in broken feathers. The elder sighed and shook his head, "Don't be stupid, Satoshi. Why would you blame this on yourself? You didn't do anything. This isn't your fault. This isn't anyone's fault."_

_Anger rose from within him at that comment, he sniffled loudly and glared at the wall, "If it isn't anyone's fault, then why is it **you** who has to be punished?"_

_The blond let out a soft laugh at that but couldn't come up with an adequate answer to it, he gave a weak smile, trying to ignore the pain burning in his back, "that's a good question Sato, maybe we'll find out someday."_

_The answer didn't stop the misery he felt as he watched his brother endure the pain and responsibility for the both of them._

_His brother was sixteen at the time. _

_And in the end, they never did find the answer to that question, even after they ran away._

* * *

Even now, he didn't understand.

Actually, there were a lot of things he didn't understand. He didn't understand why they had wings, he didn't understand why his brother was being punished, he didn't understand whose fault it actually was, he didn't understand his father, but most of all, he didn't understand, _why __them?_

All he knew was that at the age of fourteen, about a bit more than a week ago, he accidentally exposed his secret and his father found out.

* * *

_He was panic-stricken as ran around, looking for his brother. When he finally found him, he clung desperately to the back of the other's shirt, "Krad, Krad, Krad, Krad-"_

_The blond turned around, eyes full of alarm, "what's wrong? What happened?"_

"_He __saw__…__" H__e __was __panting __for __air __now, __after __having __caught __up __to __the __other. __All __at __once, __the __words __came __flying __out __of __his __mouth, __"father, __he __saw them. He saw __my __wings. __What __are __we __going __to __do? __He __saw __them. __I'm so __sorry, __you __told __me __not __to __let __him __see __them, __but __I __didn't __know __he __was there, an__d __he __saw __them, __and __now __I __don't __know __where __he __is."_

_He was terrified._

_Krad frowned and shook him a little by the shoulders, he could see a glint of turmoil in the other's normally calm golden eyes, "calm down, Satoshi. Go get dressed, okay? I'll try to deal with father."_

_Satoshi nodded and did as he was instructed; he noticed that the other had carefully slipped his wallet into his pocket before walking off to find their father._

* * *

_When he finished changing, he could hear voices coming from his father's study._

"…_**don't **__**you **__**dare **__**lay**__**…**__**"**_

"_**I **__**can **__**do**__**…**__**want!**__** …**__**rip **__**them **__**off**__**and**__**…**__**"**_

"_**Mother **__**had**__**…**__**are **__**you**__**…**__**"**_

"_**How **__**dare **__**you**__**…**__**Rio**__**…**__**no **__**such**__**…**__**monsters!"**_

* * *

_He stood there, frozen to the spot when the door flew open and his brother grabbed him by the hand, and pulled him behind his back. Tilting his head, he could see their father approaching with an unreadable glint in his eyes. Krad stood there nervously but protectively in front of him, whispering to him, "Sato, we're going to make a run for it, okay? We can't stay here anymore…"_

_Before he knew what was happening, he was being pulled down the stairs and they were running. He frowned and looked up at the other as they ran, "where are we going?"_

"_Away __from __here."_

* * *

The next morning, Daisuke opened his eyes groggily and sat up, he yawned and stretched, "good morning, Satoshi-kun." He blinked when there was no reply. The other was usually up earlier than him. Frowning, he looked at the other's bed. It was unmade, which was unusual for him. After doing a thorough inspection of the scene, realization hit him and he went around screaming for someone to help.

At the table, Dark blinked and looked over from his morning glass of milk and toast and blinked, "What's up, Dai? You're up strangely early today, Towa-chan and them went to town I think, probably do to more shopping before the next storm hits."

He was gasping for air as he pointed to his room, "Satoshi-kun…Satoshi-kun's gone!"

The other raised a brow, "what do you mean he's gone? We can't really go anywhere around here. Are you sure he didn't roll off the bed or something?"

The younger boy shook his head frantically, "No, he's actually gone!"

Dark's brows furled when he noticed how serious the other was being, he set down his glass and got up, "where could he have gone? We're in the middle of nowhere and everything's covered in snow-"

They heard the front door close.

Krad was no longer in the room.

The elder frowned, "Crap! He's still sick, too! Daisuke, go wake Argentine up, I'm going after Krad!" He grabbed a bunch of coats from the coat rack and ran outside after the other. A blast of cold air hit him as he opened the door. He frowned and yelled to the sky as he began following the trail of footprints left behind by the other, "what an idiot! What kind of loser would run around the snow without a jacket on!"

* * *

His mind was blank as he ran around, all he knew was that Satoshi was outside somewhere and he had to find him. "Sa…" he mentally cursed himself for having lost his voice during such an inconvenient time.

It'd started snowing again, a bad sign for a storm as Dark had said.

Opening his mouth, he was beyond frustrated when only a quiet raspy sound came out, "Sa…"

He continued looking.

_Satoshi…where are you!_

After awhile, he'd lost track of time, but the snow had gotten heavier and blew mercilessly into him as he tried to make his way through. Shivering, he frowned at his recklessness, thinking of how he should've brought a jacket with him.

Krad looked back and was unable to see any signs of the house. He couldn't help but wonder how he was going to get back, even if he did find his brother. _This __isn't __the __time __to __be __thinking __about __that__…_ he mentally scolded himself and continued searching.

Finally, he caught glimpse of a blue mop of hair. "Sato…shi…" he gave a cough and tried again, "Sa…"

He frowned and walked up to the other, shaking him by the shoulder, "Sa…toshi…Sato…come on…"

His brother stirred.

The blond furled his brows and shook harder, "Satoshi!"

The other's eyes fluttered open.

* * *

He wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep. But all of a sudden, he could hear someone calling. _"Sa__…__toshi__…__Sato__…__"_

_Satoshi._

Blinking, he opened his eyes and stared at the familiar face of his brother, "Krad? What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, he was pulled into a hug.

The blond frowned, his voice still raspy from forcing it to sound, "Idiot! You're freezing! Do you know how worried I was! What were you doing out here anyways?"

He gave a tired yawn, "Hey…your voice is back…I came out here to think, I guess I fell asleep or something…" he looked around with a frown, "it's snowing pretty hard…"

Krad nodded and got up, speaking softly as he began retracing his footprints back, "come on, let's head back while we can still see the footprints…"

* * *

Unfortunately, the snow was quick in covering their footprints. After awhile, they completely disappeared and the two stood there, at a lost as to what to do. Satoshi frowned, wondering if he'd actually angered his brother. After all, he'd never seen his brother angry before. "Krad…this time it's really my fault, hm? I'm sorry…"

The blond looked down, "apologize to me after we get back." A pause, "what was it you had to come all the way out here to think about anyways?"

"Everything…you…" he hesitated, "father… Krad, why did all this have to happen to us? I still don't understand. Why did it happen to you? You said we'd find out someday…but we never did. And now…and now your wings are…"

Krad sighed and pulled his brother close, "I don't mind anymore so you shouldn't either, okay? Let's just concentrate on finding our way back."

"But what if-"

"_You're __idiots! __The __both __of __you!"_

The pair blinked and looked over to see Dark trudging over to them, "Dark-san?"

Jackets were thrown at them, "hurry up and put them on! We have to head back real quick or we'll never find our way back, got it?"

The brothers quickly did as they were instructed and after awhile, they returned to familiar grounds with Daisuke and Argentine waiting for them outside. Dark ushered everyone into the house, "the others haven't returned yet, right?"

The redhead shook his head, "no."

The elder ran a towel through his hair and began stripping off his wet clothes, "good, don't tell them this ever happened, okay? I don't want to have to deal with them. Hurry up and get changed, all of you, before you get sick-again! Especially you, Krad, if you get any sicker, we'll have to ship you off to a hospital!"

Krad, who was currently drying his hair, blinked and looked over before smiling lightly, "thank you, Dark-san… I'm sorry for the trouble we caused."

Dark gave a huff and looked away, flushing just ever so slightly, "whatever, it wasn't a big deal anyways. And don't call me Dark-sa-whoa, you got your voice back!" A nod. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, suddenly deciding that the ceiling was something of great interest to him, "Uh…yea, don't call me Dark-san and hurry up and get changed already!"

After the blond disappeared, Argentine grinned slyly, "Looks like someone's got a man-crush on a certain someone."

Slowly turning red, he turned around and snapped at the other, "Shut up Argen-chan!"

"Don't call me Argen-chan!"

* * *

Nya

Yesss I finished my exam yesterday! So hora! An update! I'm so proud of myself ;P I'll try to update more this summer so just watch! Moohahahaa! Enjoy!


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